Jump to content

Africa Palace: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 50°49′43″N 4°30′55″E / 50.82861°N 4.51528°E / 50.82861; 4.51528
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Added gallery & source
History
Line 69: Line 69:


==History==
==History==

⚫
The Palace of the Colonies was built in 1897 by order of [[Leopold II of Belgium|King Leopold II]] to plans by the architect [[Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe]] to host the first Congo Exhibition (colonial part of the [[Brussels International Exposition (1897)|1897 International Exposition]]).<ref name="flammarion" /><ref name="mercator" /> In 1898, it became the first Museum of the Congo ({{lang-fr|Musée du Congo|link=no}}, {{lang-nl|Museum van Kongo|link=no}}), a museum and a scientific institution for the dissemination of colonial propaganda and support for colonial activities of Belgium. Named the Museum of the Belgian Congo ({{lang-fr|Musée du Congo Belge|link=no}}, {{lang-nl|Museum van Belgisch-Kongo|link=no}}), it moved to a [[Royal Museum for Central Africa|new building]] nearby in 1910, where the institution is still located under the name AfricaMuseum.<ref name=refurb>{{cite web|title=During the renovation|url=http://www.africamuseum.be/renovation/|publisher=Africamuseum.be|access-date=16 June 2013}}</ref> During the renovation of the museum in 2018, the Palace of the Colonies was renamed the Africa Palace.<ref name=":0" />
===International Exposition (1897)===
The Palace of the Colonies was built in 1897 by order of [[Leopold II of Belgium|King Leopold II]] to plans by the French architect [[Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe]] to host the first Congo Exhibition (colonial section of the [[Brussels International Exposition (1897)|1897 International Exposition]]).<ref name="flammarion" /><ref name="mercator" /> In the main hall, known as the Hall of the Great Cultures ({{lang-fr|Salon des Grandes Cultures|link=no}}), the architect and decorator {{illm|Georges Hobé|fr}} designed a distinctive wooden [[Art Nouveau]] structure to evoke a Congolese forest, using [[Bilinga (wood)|Bilinga wood]], an African tree. The exhibition displayed [[ethnography|ethnographic]] objects, [[taxidermy|stuffed animals]] and Congolese export products (e.g. coffee, cacao and tobacco). In the classical gardens, designed by the French [[landscape architect]] [[Elie Lainé]], a temporary "[[human zoo]]"—a copy of an African village—was built, in which 60 Congolese people lived for the duration of the exhibition.<ref>Dirk F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde, ''Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale'' (in French), Brussels, Crédit communal, coll. "Musea Nostra" (no 32), 1994, p. 8–9</ref> Seven of them, however, did not survive their forced stay in Belgium.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hochschild|first=Adam|author-link=Adam Hochschild|title=[[King Leopold's Ghost]]}}</ref>


<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
Line 75: Line 77:
File:Plan de lexposition coloniale 1897 a Tervuren.jpg|Plan of the colonial section of the 1897 World's Fair in Tervuren
File:Plan de lexposition coloniale 1897 a Tervuren.jpg|Plan of the colonial section of the 1897 World's Fair in Tervuren
File:Tervuren 1897 salon des grandes cultures.jpg|Wooden structure by {{illm|Georges Hobé|fr}} in the Hall of the Great Cultures during the exhibition
File:Tervuren 1897 salon des grandes cultures.jpg|Wooden structure by {{illm|Georges Hobé|fr}} in the Hall of the Great Cultures during the exhibition
File:Village congolais - Exposition Tervuren 1897 (album Alphonse Gautier).jpg|The 'Congolese Village' [[human zoo]] during the exhibition
</gallery>
</gallery>

===Later history===
⚫
In 1898, the building became the first Museum of the Congo ({{lang-fr|Musée du Congo|link=no}}, {{lang-nl|Museum van Kongo|link=no}}), a museum and a scientific institution for the dissemination of colonial propaganda and support for colonial activities of Belgium. Named the Museum of the Belgian Congo ({{lang-fr|Musée du Congo Belge|link=no}}, {{lang-nl|Museum van Belgisch-Kongo|link=no}}), it moved to a [[Royal Museum for Central Africa|new building]] nearby in 1910, where the institution is still located under the name AfricaMuseum.<ref name=refurb>{{cite web|title=During the renovation|url=http://www.africamuseum.be/renovation/|publisher=Africamuseum.be|access-date=16 June 2013}}</ref> During the renovation of the museum in 2018, the Palace of the Colonies was renamed the Africa Palace.<ref name=":0" />

==Description==



==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 13:11, 20 August 2023

Africa Palace
Front view of the Africa Palace
Map
Former namesPalace of the Colonies
Alternative namesPalace of Africa
General information
TypePalace
Architectural styleNeoclassical
Town or cityTervuren, Flemish Brabant
CountryBelgium
Coordinates50°49′43″N 4°30′55″E / 50.82861°N 4.51528°E / 50.82861; 4.51528
Completed1897 (1897)

The Africa Palace or Palace of Africa (Template:Lang-nl, Template:Lang-fr or Palais de l'Afrique) is a neoclassical palace in Tervuren in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, just outside Brussels. It was originally built in 1897 by order of King Leopold II to house the colonial section of the 1897 International Exposition.[1][2] Nowadays, it is part of the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), and houses offices, storage rooms, classrooms and a reception hall. It was formerly called the Palace of the Colonies (Template:Lang-nl or Paleis der Koloniën, Template:Lang-fr) until 2018.[3]

History

International Exposition (1897)

The Palace of the Colonies was built in 1897 by order of King Leopold II to plans by the French architect Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe to host the first Congo Exhibition (colonial section of the 1897 International Exposition).[1][2] In the main hall, known as the Hall of the Great Cultures (Template:Lang-fr), the architect and decorator Georges Hobé [fr] designed a distinctive wooden Art Nouveau structure to evoke a Congolese forest, using Bilinga wood, an African tree. The exhibition displayed ethnographic objects, stuffed animals and Congolese export products (e.g. coffee, cacao and tobacco). In the classical gardens, designed by the French landscape architect Elie Lainé, a temporary "human zoo"—a copy of an African village—was built, in which 60 Congolese people lived for the duration of the exhibition.[4] Seven of them, however, did not survive their forced stay in Belgium.[5]

  • Poster for the colonial section of the 1897 International Exposition
    Poster for the colonial section of the 1897 International Exposition
  • Plan of the colonial section of the 1897 World's Fair in Tervuren
    Plan of the colonial section of the 1897 World's Fair in Tervuren
  • Wooden structure by Georges Hobé [fr] in the Hall of the Great Cultures during the exhibition
    Wooden structure by Georges Hobé [fr] in the Hall of the Great Cultures during the exhibition
  • The 'Congolese Village' human zoo during the exhibition
    The 'Congolese Village' human zoo during the exhibition

Later history

In 1898, the building became the first Museum of the Congo (Template:Lang-fr, Template:Lang-nl), a museum and a scientific institution for the dissemination of colonial propaganda and support for colonial activities of Belgium. Named the Museum of the Belgian Congo (Template:Lang-fr, Template:Lang-nl), it moved to a new building nearby in 1910, where the institution is still located under the name AfricaMuseum.[6] During the renovation of the museum in 2018, the Palace of the Colonies was renamed the Africa Palace.[3]

Description

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palais des Colonies (Tervuren).

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Brigitte Schroeder-Gudehus, Anne Rasmussen, Les fastes du progrès : le guide des expositions universelles 1851-1992 (in French), Flammarion, Paris, 1992, p. 128–131
  2. ^ a b Aubry, Françoise, L'exposition de Tervueren en 1897 : scénographie Art nouveau et arts primitifs (in French), in Bruxelles carrefour de cultures, Mercator, 2000, p. 179
  3. ^ a b "Palais des Colonies devient Palais d'Afrique • Palais d'Afrique". Palais d'Afrique (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  4. ^ Dirk F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde, Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale (in French), Brussels, Crédit communal, coll. "Musea Nostra" (no 32), 1994, p. 8–9
  5. ^ Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold's Ghost.
  6. ^ "During the renovation". Africamuseum.be. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Africa_Palace&oldid=1171329927"